When Was Smoking Banned On Airplanes? (And Is It Still Allowed On Private Jets?)

Younger generations wouldn't know it by looking around, but there was a time when smoking cigarettes was so prevalent in the United States that you could be enjoying a delicious meal along with a side smoke whether you ordered it or not. Smoking was also common on commercial flights, but if you get on an airplane today, nobody is allowed to smoke. Smoking was banned on all U.S. flights in the year 2000, including any flight within the country's borders, as well as those coming to it.

The laws surrounding smoking in public places have gradually grown more restrictive as more research has become publicly available. Arizona began designating certain public buildings smoke-free in 1973. In that same year, the Civil Aeronautics Board requested all commercial flights separate smokers from non-smokers. By 1986, 41 states restricted where people could and could not smoke. However, the first ban on airlines wouldn't go into effect until 1988, and it was only on all domestic flights in the United States that didn't last longer than two hours. It was extended to flights that lasted six hours in 1990.

Airlines were free to enact more restrictions, which Delta did in '95, banning smoking on all of its flights worldwide. However, pilots were given some leeway and allowed to smoke during their flights because regulators were concerned about withdrawals and how that would affect the flight.

Small private jets don't have to abide by all the same rules and regulations as commercial airlines. There are plenty of celebrities with their own private jets, and if you outright own the plane, that's your prerogative. If you're chartering a plane, though, it's typically up to the company's discretion. Private jet companies can choose to ban smoking on all of their planes, some of them, or none of them. A company's decision to allow or not allow smoking comes down to protecting its employees.

If there's a flight attendant or pilot on the chartered flight who isn't okay with passengers smoking, then it's not allowed on that flight. However, things are a little more restrictive when you fly on something like the most popular single-engine planes. Since they're smaller, without a separation between the pilot and passengers, smoking is prohibited. The smoke from a cigarette can end up interfering with the pilot's ability to fly the plane safely.

You might be thinking, since cigarettes aren't allowed on commercial flights or some private planes, what about e-cigarettes? It's the same case. The United States Department of Transportation banned passengers and crew members on domestic and international flights from using e-cigarettes in 2016. Moreover, nobody is allowed to even charge their vape on an airplane. Vapes and similar devices have to be packed in specific ways since they have lithium batteries. These devices were responsible for most lithium battery accidents in 2022, according to reports by the Federal Aviation Administration.

If you bring a vape or e-cigarette onto a commercial flight, it's supposed to be with you in the cabin rather than in your checked baggage. There aren't consequences laid out in FAA regulations, but if anyone is caught smoking a cigarette, e-cigarette, or vaping on a plane, there are several possibilities. Passengers typically sneak off to the bathroom to smoke, thinking they'll get away with it there. However, there are smoke detectors in there that alert the cockpit if smoke is detected. If nobody takes responsibility for smoking, the plane has to be grounded for several hours so crews can perform maintenance to determine if there's a malfunction with the smoke detector. 

Natalie Magee, a flight attendant, told Newsweek that if the smoker admits to it, they'll be talked to when the plane lands. However, there have been some who were caught smoking, and they were fined thousands of dollars.